Shoe buffing machine



' June 1, 1943- H. E. ELLIOTT ETAL 2,320,420

SHOE BUFFING MACHINE Filed Oct. 31, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l H.E. ELLIOTT ETAL 2,320,420

June 1, 1943.

SHOE BUFFING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001:. 31, 1940 June 1, 1943; H. E. ELLIOTT 'ETAL SHOE BUFFING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 31, 194p mnrfl M Mica Patented June I, 1943 SHOE BUFFING MACHINE Harold Ernest Elliott and Lawrence Mawbey, Leicester, England, assignors toUnited Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 31, 1940, Serial No. 363,736 In Great Britain December 1, 1939 1 Claim.

This invention relates to shoe buffing machines and is herein illustrated and described as em bodied in a buffing machine provided with a pair of bottom scouring rolls and a pair of shank bufling tools of the inflated disk type. In the illustrated machine, the shaft of the bottom scouring tools is arranged to be reciprocated axially, and all of the various tool shafts are driven by belts.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved machine of the type above referred to. In accordance with this object, the illustrated machine is provided with an improved mechanism for reciprocating the shaft of the bottom scouring rolls, such reciprocating mechanism being designed to avoid the transmission of transverse thrusts to the shaft.

The invention will be best understood from the following description of the preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in

which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the improved machine;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view in side elevation of the portion of the machine associated with the bottom scouring rolls;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view takenin the plane of the axis of the bottom scouring roll shaft showing a portion of the mechanism for reciprocating the shaft; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view further illustrating said reciprocating mechanism.

The illustrative machine has a frame in the form of a casing comprising a base section I upon which is mounted an, intermediate section 3 (Fig. 2) which supports a top section 5. The base section I has upright side walls, a front portion which slopes upwardly and rearwardly at a small angle to the vertical, and a rear portion which slopes upwardly and forwardly at a small angle to the vertical. The front and rear portions of the base section of the casing are provided with large openings, normally covered by plates, which may be readily removed from the casing to provide access to the interior thereof,- the plate atthe front of the machine being indicated by the reference numeral 1.

In the base section of the casing, at the righthand side thereof, is mounted an electric motor 9 a portion of which extends into the interior of the casing through an opening II in the side walls of the base section I. A driving shaft l3 Lil ' tion I.

of the motor is provided with a pulley 15 (within the casing) which drives, through a belt ll, a pulley I9 fast on a horizontal countershaft 2| extending transversely of the machine and journaled in three bearings supported by brackets extending upwardly from the bottom of the base section of the casing near to the rear thereof. The intermediate section 3 of the casing is of general box-like structure and extends across at least substantially the full width of the base section. From a front wall 21 of this intermediate section extend in a forward direction three brackets 29, one of which is positioned at the left-hand end portion of the wall, one at the midportion of the wall and one at the right-hand end portion of the wall. Each of the brackets 29 is provided with a bearing in which is journaled a horizontally disposed shaft 3! extending transversely of the machine, on which shaft two scouring rolls 33 are mounted, one between the lefthand bearing and the middle bearing, and the other between the middle bearing and the righthand bearing. I Sufficient space is provided between the end surfaces of the rolls 33 and the adjacent bearings to allow reciprocation of the shaft 3| through about T g of an inch by means hereinafter described, and, in the case of the righthand roll, a pulley 35 (Fig. 2) is provided between the right-hand roll and the right-hand bearing. The rolls are arranged to be driven, at a comparatively high speed, for example about 3500 R. P. M., from a pulley 31 on the countershaft 2| by means of a belt 39 which passes through an opening in the front portion of the base sec- The portion of the belt 39 which lies outside the casing, together with the pulley 35, is shielded by a guard 4| secured to the casing. The shaft 3| is positioned by the brackets 29 some distance forwardly of the upper front portion of the base section I to allow clearance for the toe portion of a shoe when its sole is being scoured by one of the rolls. The left-hand end portion of the shaft 3| is shielded by a cap-like guard 43 secured to the left-hand end bracket 29. Since the roll-carrying shaft is arranged not only to be rotated at a comparatively high speed, but also to have a reciprocatory movement imparted thereto as above referred to, it is important to provide adequate, but not excessive, lubrication of the bearings in which this shaft is journaled. The following arrangement has been found to provide satisfactory lubrication of said bearings. Each bearing comprises a cylindrical brass bushing 45 (Fig. 3) in which the roll-carrying shaft is received and which is mounted in bores in end walls of the hollow portion 41 (Fig. 1) of the bracket 29. An inner surface of the bushing 45 has formed therein a figure of 8 oil groove (not shown). An outer surface of the bushing 45 has a longitudinal T-shaped slot 49 formed therein, which communicates with the oil groove. Received in the slot 49 is a felt pad which is supplied with oil by means of a wick 53 hung over the felt pad and having a portion dipping into oil 55 in an oil-reservoir formed by the hollow end portion 41 of the bracket 29. The bracket 29 is provided with a hinged cover 51 through which oil may be supplied to the reservoir. Each reservoir is provided with a small opening normally closed by a screw 59 through which opening the reservoir may be drained on removal of the screw.

To the rear of each roll there is a dust hood 6| (Fig. 3) which is connected, through a branch duct 60 and a main duct (not shown), to dustcollecting means comprising a fan housing 63 (Fig. 2) mounted in the front portion of the base section I of the casing, a fan within the housing being driven by belt drive 65 from a pulley 61 on the countershaft 2|. The outlet of the fan housing may be connected to an exhaust conduit leading outside the building to a suitable dustseparator.

Below the scouring rolls (and common to both rolls) is a dust-collecting pan 69 of sheet metal which is connected by a duct 'II to the main duct above mentioned. Each scouring roll is provided with a spring-controlled cover 13 pivoted to the intermediate section 3 of the casing at I5. Since the duct 6| abuts against a lower surface M (Fig. 3) of the cover I3 when the latter is in operating position, and since the duct is in contact with a rear wall I6 of the pan 69, a very effective dust-removing arrangement results.

Fast on a shaft I6 (Fig. 2) journaled in bearings in a bracket 11 extending through an opening in the front portion of the base section I, at the left-hand side thereof, is a brush 19 for removing the dust which accumulates on the shoes during the buffing operations. The bracket TI is in the form of a guard and dust hood which partially surrounds the brush, and is secured to the base section I. The shaft "I6 is provided with a pulley 8| driven by belt 83 from a pulley on the countershaft 2|.. The belt 83 passes through an opening in the front portion of the base section I, and a guard 01 is provided for the portion of the belt which extends through the opening just referred to.

The means for imparting reciprocatory move ment as aforesaid to the shaft 3| will now be described. The shaft 3| has a short reduced end portion 89 (Fig. 4) about one and one-eighth inches long and extending to the right beyond the right-hand end wall of the right-hand bearing 29. A cylindrical sleeve or collar 9| (see also Fig. 5), having an internally directed cylindrical flange 93 at one of its end portions, surrounds the portion 89 of the shaft 3|, the internal diameter of the flange 93 being slightly larger than the normal diameter of the shaft 3|, while the internal diameter of the remainder of the sleeve 9| is considerably greater than the diameter of the reduced portion- 89 of the shaft. This portion 89 is threaded for a distance of about onehalf inch from. the right-hand end of the shaft. An inner race 95 of a ball bearing is clamped on the portion 89 of the shaft between a shoulder 91 formed by the reduction in diameter of the shaft, and nuts 99 threaded on the end portion of the shaft. The ball bearing has an outer race 0| of such a diameter as to be comfortably received within the sleeve 9|, being clamped therein between the flange 93 and a cap I03 threaded into the end portion of the sleeve remote from said flange. It is evident that through the agency of the above-described ball bearing the sleeve or .collar III is carried upon the shaft 3|.

The sleeve 9| has two short cylindrical trunnion pins I05 extending outwardly from its outer surface in diametrically opposed directions. On

each of the pins I05 is rotatably mounted a small block I01. The blocks I01 are received within guide slots formed in the end portions of upwardly extending arms I09 of a yoke IIO (Fig. 2) which is pivoted on an upwardly and rearwardly extending shaft or fulcrum pin III and which loosely embraces the sleeve 9|. The shaft III is carried in a bracket I I3 extending forwardly from the right-hand end portion of the intermediate section 3 of the casing. An arm II5 extending at right angles to the arms I09, and integral with one of the latter, is connected by means of a ball-and-socket joint II'I to an upper end portion of an arm II9 extending forwardly and upwardly through an opening in the front portion of the base section of the casing. The lower end of the arm II9 carries an eccentric strap |2| (Fig. 2) surrounding an eccentric I23 which is mounted on a horizontal shaft I25 J'ournaled in a suitable support carried by the base section of the casing. The shaft I25 is parallel to the buffing roll shaft 3| and carries a fixed pulley I21 driven by a belt I29 from a pulley I3I on the countershaft 2|. Thus, as the shaft I25 is rotated, the eccentric I23 mounted thereon rocks the arms I09 and, through the connections above described between the arms I09 and the shaft 3|, imparts reciprocatory movement to that shaft. A guard MI is provided to shield the portion of the arm II9 which lies outside the base section I of the casing, and a guard I43 is provided for partially surrounding the sleeve 9| to prevent an operators fingers being trapped between the flange 93 and the adjacent bearing for the shaft 3| during the reciprocating movement of the shaft. The arrangement just described allows the shaft 3| to be oscillated without any substantial thrust being applied in a direction transversely of the shaft and thus reduces to a minimum the wear on the bearings supporting the shaft.

The top section 5 of the casing extends about half way across the intermediate section 3 of the casing from right to left of the machine and has a central portion I45 (Fig. l) which extends somewhat higher than the remainder of this section of the casing. Secured by clamping screws 200 to faces I4I formed on a front wall (one at the left-hand and the other at the right-hand end portions thereof) of the top section 5 of the casing, are two brackets I49. The screws 200 extend through arcuate slots 20I which are formed in the brackets I49 to provide for limited adjustment of the brackets about a substantially horizontal axis extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machine. Each of the brackets I49, at a forward end portion thereof, carries a shank buffing tool I5! of the inflated disk type. Air for inflating the tools I5I is supplied through a flexible pipe under control of a valve I13, and if desired may be conveniently obtained by driving a compressor (not shown) from the shaft I25. The tools I 5| are driven by belts I53 from pulleys I55 carried by a horizontal transversely extending shaft I51 which is journaled in bearings in the central portion I45 of the top section 5. The shaft I51 is provided with a pulley driven by belt 292 from the countershaft 2|.

The pulleys I55 are secured to portions of the shaft I5'I extending outwardly from side walls of the central portion I45 of the top section 5 of the casing. The belts I53 and pulleys I55 are guarded by means of inverted U-shaped guards I59 pivotally mounted at rear portions thereof on vertical studs I6I secured in bosses I63 in the top section 5 of the casing. In each of the walls designated by the reference numerals I65 and forming the sides of each inverted U-shaped guard I59, at forward end portions thereof, is a horizontal adjusting screw I61, an end of which engages a cylindrical surface I69 on an adjacent portion of the bracket I49 supporting the associated buffing tool I5I. By adjustment of the screws I6! the positions of the guards I59 transversely of the brackets I49 may be adjusted. On adjustment of one or the other of the brackets I49 relatively to the top section 5 of the casing, as above referred to, the portion of the bracket in which the bufling tool is mounted will swing transversely of the machine, and the associated guard I59 will move about its pivot stud I6I with its bracket I49 to guard the belt drive I53 in any adjusted position of the bracket I49. A dustcollecting hood 293, carried by the bracket I49, is provided for each buffing tool I5I and is in communication, through a duct I15, with the main duct already mentioned.

It will be appreciated that the various shafts, pulleys and belt drives are at least substantially enclosed within the casing of the machine frame, or are guarded by means of the guards and hoods above described. There is thus little danger of injury to the operator by moving belts or rotating shafts or pulleys which, in prior machines, have often been dangerously exposed.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

Mechanism for reciprocating a buffing roll shaft, comprising a ball bearing having an inner race and an outer race, the inner race of said ball bearing being secured to said shaft against relative axial movement, a pair of trunnion pins extending from the outer race of the ball bearing, a slide block pivotally mounted on each of said trunnion pins, a yoke embracing said outer race and having a pair of guide slots in which said blocks respectively are slidably mounted, a fulcrum upon which said yoke is mounted for oscillatory movement, a driven shaft parallel to said buffing roll shaft, an eccentric on said driven shaft, a connecting rod from said eccentric to said yoke, and a universal joint between the connecting rod and the yoke, whereby the yoke is oscillated to impart reciprocatory movement through the ball bearing to the shaft, said guide slots serving to avoid transmission into the bearing of the transverse component of movement of the yoke.

HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT. LAWRENCE MAWBEY. 

